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EDUCATION FACULTY
Michael is the Associate Artistic Director and Director of Education of The Sharon Playhouse. Michael wears many hats at the Playhouse, including producer, teacher, director, actor, and playwright. Directing credits at the Playhouse include the 2023 MainStage production of Oliver!, a staged reading of Marie Antoinette starring Lauren Ambrose, and YouthStage productions of Pride and Prejudice, A Midsummer Night's Dream, A Charlie Brown Christmas, Elf, Jr., Frozen, Jr., The Little Mermaid, Jr, and Mary Poppins, Jr.. Performance credits at the Sharon Playhouse include Tony Whitcomb in Shear Madness (Berkie nom, Broadway World CT Award), Simon Stimson in Our Town, Cogsworth in Beauty and the Beast, Mordred in Camelot, and Bobby in A Chorus Line. As Director of Education, Michael has initiated in-school performing arts residencies at Indian Mountain School, Sharon Center School, Salisbury Central School, Housatonic, as well as partnerships with Project SAGE and The Equus Effect. Michael co-created and directed the play #BraveSpace, which premiered at New York University's Forum on Ethnodrama. Michael has conducted masterclasses and delivered speeches all over the country, most notably serving as a keynote speaker for The Educational Theatre Association's "Theater in our Schools" initiative. Michael received a Bachelor's Degree in Theater and Sociology from Skidmore College and a Master's Degree in Education from The City College of New York. Michael lives in Lakeville, CT with his husband, Will, and their dog, Daphne.
Sarah is the Company and Education Manager for he Sharon Playhouse. She has been a dance teacher and choreographer since her teenage years, with a focus on Ballet, Jazz, and Musical Theater. Growing up the “Ballet teacher's daughter”, Sarah has spent her life observing and learning this art. Sarah has previously had the pleasure of teaching at The Ballet School (Lakeville, CT), The Studio (Amenia, NY), and a sub for Lara Luzim at PMT (New York, NY). While living in New York City, she continued her training at Broadway Dance Center, Steps, and PMT. Musical Theater has also been a long time passion for Sarah. Outside of The Sharon Playhouse, Sarah has been a guest artist at schools such as Indian Mountain, Hotchkiss, the Brearley School, and Falls Village Children’s Theater. Before joining the staff at the Sharon Playhouse, Sarah was the dance teacher for Millbrook School. Sarah holds a teacher certificate from The National Dance Institute founded by Jacques D’Amboise, as well as a 200hr Certified Yoga Instructor.
Hailing from Atlanta, GA, Dana sang, danced, and acted her way to a BFA in Musical Theatre from CCM. From there, she spent 13 years hustling in New York City until the pandemic brought her to the Northwest Corner and Sharon Playhouse. Her New York credits include Lost and Found (Lucille Lortel), Straight Faced Lies (14th Street Y), Company (Gallery Players), Tovarich (Musicals Tonight), Illuminati (Planet Connections Festivity), Avenue Q (Manhattan College – Choreographer), One Life to Live (ABC - recurring). Regional credits include Meet Me in St. Louis (Paper Mill Playhouse & TUTS Houston), Hello Dolly! (MUNY), Joseph...Dreamcoat (MUNY), Oklahoma! (MUNY), The King and I(MUNY), Wizard of Oz (Northern Stages), Nunsense (Centre for the Arts), Cabaret (CCM - Choreographer). Her voice can be heard in commercials for Facebook, Blue Moon, JCPenney, Pier One, Brooklinen, Gevalia, Hasbro, Casper Mattress & more. She also produced the podcast Time Spent with Meredith Baker which can be found anywhere you get your podcasts. In addition to her performing, choreographing, and podcasting, Dana loves, LOVES working with children and incorporating learning through music and dance. www.DanaDomenick.com
Kimiye Corwin is an actor, dancer, choreographer and teaching artist. She trained at The Juilliard School as a dancer and then at Brown/Trinity as an actor after her five year stint with the Jose Limon Dance Company. Kimiye has toured internationally, performed in NYC and on regional stages around the country as well as worked in film and tv. She is a resident in Roxbury, CT with her husband and two daughters, and teaches at the Stella Adler Studio/NYU in NYC. www.KimiyeCorwin.com
Michael has been working in professional theatre for over twenty years. An actor, musician, singer, and director, he has performed for theatres across the country. Aside from being an actor, private guitar and voice teacher, Michael has also directed for the Rhinebeck Performing Arts Center, the Falls Village Children's Theatre, and Lenox High school. He has taught musical theatre and filmmaking for The Flying Cloud Institute, and The Boston Symphony Orchestra's summer DARTS program at Tanglewood. Michael is a graduate of the American Music and Dramatic Academy and a member of Actor's Equity.
CAROLINE KINSOLVING. NY: Monica: This Play is Not About Monica Lewinsky (59e59), Word Play (Playwright’s Horizons) Regional: Cry It Out (Hartford Stage); Tartuffe (Shakespeare Theatre NJ); Peer Gynt (Boston Symphony), Love/Sick (Arc Stage), Last Gas (Shadowland), Coriolanus (Shaw Theatre); CA: Venus in Fur (SDRep - Critic’s Circle Best Actress Nom), Twelfth Night (The Old Globe); Private Lives (ICT); Chapter Two (Ensemble Theatre & Laguna); Little Women (North Coast Rep); Macbeth, Taming of the Shrew, Twelfth Night, As You Like It (Kingsmen); Almost, Maine (Colony); Film: The Watcher, Krankenhaus, The Pink Conspiracy, Break, The Adventures of Umbweki, Noobz, Puppy Love, The Collaboration; Television: Medium, Criminal Minds (with Tim Curry), Cold Case, Satisfaction, My Crazy Ex, Sam Has 7 Friends, Headhunters (Pilot), Whistleblowers (Pilot), The Blue Marble (Pilot); Vassar College, Intensives: Stella Adler NY, Yale, RADA. Founder, Theatre for Good. www.CarolineKinsolving.com
Mallory is a Brooklyn-based playwright whose work primarily spirals around female stories. Her plays are equal parts mythical, magical, and human. Select plays include BIG BLACK SUNHATS (The O’Neill National Playwrights Conference 2022; Clubbed Thumb Biennial Commission finalist 2020), LIGHTS OUT AND AWAY WE GO (Clubbed Thumb reading June 2022), THE PAGE TURNERS (Princess Grace Award semi-finalist 2022; The O’Neill National Playwrights Conference finalist 2021), PONY UP (Princess Grace Award Finalist, 2019; SPACE on Ryder Farm semi-finalist, 2020; The New School, 2019), and DAVE AND JULIA ARE STUCK IN A TREE (Playing on Air’s James Stevenson Prize 2020). Mallory is an alumna of Clubbed Thumb’s Early Career Writers’ Group (2021-2022), The COOP’s Clusterf**k vol. 2 (2021), Gingold Theatrical Group’s Speakers Corner (2018-2019), and Fresh Ground Pepper’s BRB Retreat (2019). She earned her B.A. from Harvard University and her M.F.A. in playwriting from The New School. www.malloryjaneweiss.com
Andrus Nichols is an award winning actress, arts leader, and community builder. She has been recognized by numerous organizations in multiple cities across the country for her work on stage, including: Helen Hayes, Drama League, Lucille Lortel, The OBIES, The IRNES, Eliot Norton, Off-Broadway Alliance, Broadway World, and The Jeff Awards. She was the Co-Founder of the OBIE Award-winning Off Broadway company, Bedlam, where she originated many roles including the title role in George Bernard Shaw's Saint Joan, which she performed over 500 times in theatres up and down the East coast. She worked with Ivo Van Hove on the National Tour of the Young Vic production of A View From The Bridge which played at the Ahmanson Theatre in LA, The Kennedy Center in DC, and the Goodman Theatre in Chicago. Her most recent film project, South Mountain, was nominated for the Grand Jury Prize at the 2019 SXSW Film Festival. Andrus has a BA in Comparative Literature from Bard College, and a Masters of Social Welfare from SUNY Albany. She is the Artistic Director of The Coop: www.thecoopnyc.org
Drew Ledbetter: Off-Broadway: Williston (Miranda Theater Company- opposite Robert LuPone), A Persistent Memory (Theater Row), Richard 2x1 (Red Bull Theater). Regional: Hamlet (Pittsburgh Public Theater- played Hamlet), Fly (Alabama Shakespeare Festival), King Lear (Trinity Rep), Melena (Brown/Trinity Playwright’s Rep), She-Wolf (Amphibian Stage Company, Cincinnati Shakespeare Company). Numerous workshops with New York Theater Workshop, New Georges, New Dramatists, Chautauqua Theater Company, The Drama League, Red Bull Theater, and more. Film: Love and Everything In Between; WordPlay Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet (The New Book Press). TV: The Blacklist (NBC), Succession (HBO- recurring role- SAG award for best ensemble in season 3). MFA: Brown University/Trinity Rep. BA: UC Berkeley. www.drewledbetteronline.com
Danny is an actor and writer who recently completed his first short film, YOURS/OURS. His New York credits include: Broadway production of BREAKFAST AT TIFFANY'S and BONES IN THE BASKET (Araca Group festival). He performed in director Ivo Van Hove's production of A VIEW FROM THE BRIDGE (Ahmanson Theatre, Kennedy Center). Regional credits include: ANGELS IN AMERICA PARTS 1 & 2 (Berkeley Repertory Theatre), THE MAN IN THE CEILING (Bay Street Theatre), THE MUSIC MAN (Guthrie Theater), THE IMAGINARY INVALID (Fisher Center), THE LAST MATCH (City Theatre), POP! (Yale Rep), THE MAY QUEEN (Geva Theatre), ASSASSINS (PlayMakers Rep), and TITUS ANDRONICUS (Shakespeare Theatre Company). Television appearances include: Elementary, Power Boook III:Raising Kanan, Madam Secretary, Blue Bloods, The Blacklist, and Codes of Conduct (HBO). His film credits include A Good Marriage, Good Friday, and No Pay, Nudity. Danny holds an MFA from the Yale School of Drama and earned his BFA in Musical Theatre from the University of Michigan.
Kent is currently the Director of Theatre Arts at The Frederick Gunn School in Washington, CT. He teaches Acting, Advanced Acting, Combat for Stage and Screen, Improv, and Public Speaking. Before the Frederick Gunn School, he was the Director of Theatre Arts and Chair of the Arts at the Trinity-Pawling School in NY. At the Sharon Playhouse, Kent recently directed Shrek, Jr. and a 10-minute play in Writers Playground. As a Theatre-Educator he has taught at The Shakespeare Theatre (DC), Penobscot Theatre (ME), and Western Stage (CA). As a professor of acting, directing, voice, and Shakespeare, he has taught at Grand Canyon University, Chandler-Gilbert Community College, Nassau Community College, and Mesa Community College. Previous artistic leadership positions include Associate Artistic Director and Director of Education for Southwest Shakespeare Company in Arizona, from 2015-2017. He has acted and directed at regional theatres and appeared on TV and in Film. He is a Certified Stage Combatant and recently recertified in Hand-to-Hand, Small Sword, Rapier, and Dagger. He is a member of Actors' Equity Association, SAG/AFTRA, and Stage Directors and Choreographers Society. Kent has a BA in Theatre from Hofstra University and an MFA from The Shakespeare Theatre/Academy for Classical Acting in DC.
Emma Simon (she/her) is an actor and educator originally from the Hudson Valley, NY. She has performed throughout the US and internationally in opera, musicals, and dramatic works. Specializing in physically funny storytelling, she has trained extensively in clowning under Chris Bayes, Lucas Caleb Rooney, and David Shiner. As an educator, she has been a teaching artist at numerous theaters and organizations, including New York Stage & Film at Powerhouse Theater, CAT Youth Theater, SUNY Potsdam, SUNY Plattsburgh, and the New York State Theater Education Association. She holds a BM in Vocal Performance from The Crane School of Music, has undergone advanced teacher training in voice and speech with Beth McGuire and Jane Guyer Fujita, and is pursuing an MA in Applied Theatre from the City University of New York. She is currently on faculty at the Brearley School in NYC.
Patrick is a graduate of SUNY Fredonia with a bachelor's degree in theatre and has most recently been seen in Missoula Children’s Theatre’s Rapunzel, as well as on the stage locally for Dance Nation, Dead Souls, and Rumpelstiltskin. He has spent the last two years as a working teaching artist with Missoula Children’s Theatre, touring all over the country at a new town every week. In addition, he has worked with Ancram Center for Performing Arts doing in-school residencies for their storytelling programs. He is a resident of Poughkeepsie, NY, where you can find him putting up new works with his own theatre company, Definitely Human Theatre. He is so excited to be working alongside Sharon Playhouse, and is delighted at the chance to teach at a place that brought him so many childhood memories of the theatre.
Georgina is a CT and NY based choreographer/director, actor, dancer, and educator. Ms. Bates’ dance film UNSTOPPABLE was selected from the #mydancefilm campaign and screened at the Film Society of Lincoln Center for the Dance Films Association’s Dance on Camera festival 2018. Other festivals: Stay Home Film Festival, Greensboro Dance Film Festival, DANCE SHORTS by The Physical Plant, and Directed by Women - Shorts of All Sorts. Cloud Kumo (Student Academy Award – 2016 among other awards). Georgina was an originating member of Lauren Beirne Dance Works, and has presented work and performed at venues such as HERE Arts, Robert Moss Theater, Triskelion Arts, DeBaun Performing Arts Center, NYU, The Martha Graham Theatre. Recent productions include Romeo & Juliet (Smith St. Stage), Going South (Dixon Place), Man Frog & Other People (Planet Connections Festivity 2018, Outstanding Choreography nomination), The (Last) Station (Planet Connections Festivity 2017, Outstanding Choreography nomination), Somehow We End Up Here, Again (HERE, Sublet Co-Op Series), The Master and Margarita (West End Theater). Georgina holds an M.F.A in Dance from the Tisch School of the Arts (NYU), and a B.A. in Theatre Performance from Marymount Manhattan College. Member of SDCF Observership Class 2016 -2017, and The League of Professional Theatre Women. Georgina teaches dance locally, and loves to spin around with her two little boys!
Ricky is thrilled to be joining the Sharon Playhouse Education Team. Ricky holds an MFA from the Brown University/Trinity Rep Acting Program and a BFA in Music Theatre from the University of Hartford’s Hartt School Theatre Division. He currently serves as Director of Theater at the Trinity-Pawling School in Pawling, NY. Ricky has the great privilege of teaching Acting techniques all over the world and has served as Chair and Coordinator of Actor Training at his alma mater, Hartt School, prior to moving to Trinity-Pawling last year. As a performer, Ricky has performed around the country in two national tours, several regional premieres, and in Off-Broadway houses. Some favorite roles include John Adams in 1776, Younger Brother in RAGTIME, Silvias in AS YOU LIKE IT, and Harry in TIME OF YOUR LIFE.
Julie is an independent writer, playwright, and teacher whose work has earned her support from EST New York, Primary Stages, New York Theatre Workshops, as well as the Will Geer Theatricum “Seedlings Play Development Program”. Julie has been working with playwrights and new play development coast to coast for the past twenty years creating dynamic writing workshops incorporating breathwork, sound and movement. She is a community leader, as well as an advocate for the environment and humanity. Working collaboratively with writers is one of her greatest joys. “The theatre is very much alive and one of the best ways to continue to explore and create on stage our deepest thoughts and ideas”. She believes in the power of storytelling. A safe exploration for writers in a community setting is at the core of what Julie brings to her classes.
Tricia is a dancer and an early childhood educator. She received her undergraduate degree in communication disorders and sciences from SUNY Geneseo. She worked as an early intervention therapist as well as in public schools as a speech therapist while living in NYC. Tricia then left that profession to pursue her dance career, performing in the musical theatre industry in regional theatre productions such as Holiday Inn at the Paper Mill Playhouse and Crazy for You at the Signature Theatre, in the national touring production of 42nd Street, and in television on The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel. The pandemic brought a change in perspective with the birth of her daughter and a change in location. She is now merging her two passions, early childhood development and dance, to bring the community of toddlers and their grownups together with movement and music classes.
Beckie is a graduate of Shenandoah Conservatory in Winchester, Virginia with a degree in music education, specializing in voice and piano. Beckie music directs area theatrical productions and accompanies numerous choral groups and orchestras throughout Connecticut and neighboring states. She loves working with students of all ages and abilities and helping them find their voice!
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